Unhealthy Obsession
by FreeMonoid
Summary: The war is over. The Dark Lord is dead and Wizarding Britain is beginning to rebuild. There's only one loose end for Harry Potter to tie up, and her name is Bellatrix Lestrange. But unbeknownst to him she has plans of her own.


Author: FreeMonoid

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I'm sure you all knew that, but since everyone puts a disclaimer in their story I figured I would too.

Author's Notes: This story starts about a year post Deathly Hallows. The only seriously AU element is that Bellatrix wasn't killed by Mrs. Weasley but instead escaped.

This is my first story. I had originally intended it to be a oneshot, but it was taking me too long to write the whole thing in one go. So this is part 1 of 2.

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Title: Unhealthy Obsession (Part I)

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It was an unnaturally quiet night in the woodland - unnaturally quiet, and unnaturally dark. The calls of nocturnal creatures that were usually so commonplace here on summer nights were all but absent, as were the squeals of their terrified prey. There was not even the rustling of wind in the trees. It was a wilderness steeped in foul magic and taut with anticipation.

It was this pressing atmosphere that greeted Harry Potter as he suddenly appeared with a nearly inaudible '_pop_'.

With a flick of the wrist his wand fell out of his sleeve and into his waiting palm. "_Lumos._" he muttered while holding his wand aloft. Pausing a moment to observe his surroundings the young wizard involuntarily shivered at the dreadful place he found himself in.

Now positive that he had apparated to the correct location, Harry dimmed his light-creation spell and started to make his way towards his target. He could tell that he was getting closer because the darkness surrounding the woods seemed to become even more ominous and smothering as he made his way towards his destination.

Gradually, Harry began to detect the faint tingle of a different kind of magic in the air – different from the vile presence that saturated the area. He realized that he must be getting close to the wards he knew would be surrounding his prey. He extinguished the light from his wand and cast a diagnostic spell.

He was taken a bit by surprise when he realized that it was only a proximity ward. With a little bit of wand work the young wizard was able to slip through without alerting the person inside to his presence.

Soon after bypassing the ward, Harry came across a small, trickling stream winding its way through the trees. Following the path of the stream a short distance, he saw that it flowed into an area surrounded by moss-covered boulders. And there, nestled almost imperceptibly along the side of one of the rocks was a little tent.

Upon spotting the dwelling, Harry's pulse began to quicken. He crouched down behind a tree and took a few deep breaths. Then, creeping as quickly as he dared between the trees he made his way towards the tent.

As he arrived at the entrance of the tent he reached out with his magical senses to check if there were any traps or enchantments. He didn't detect anything that should cause any problems. 'This is too easy.' he thought to himself as he quickly put up an anti-disapparition jinx. Taking another deep breath, Harry grabbed the flap of the tent and gently pulled it open - just wide enough to peek inside. Unsurprisingly, the inside was much larger than the outside. Glancing around, he saw that there was some basic furniture and a few personal effects scattered about. The only items he saw that he found mildly curious were a few potions ingredients and a small cauldron with some simmering liquid inside. The place was obviously being lived in but he didn't see anyone inside. 'Oh well' he thought to himself a bit disappointedly as he moved fully into the tent.

Harry slowly toured the interior, searching through anything that might give him a clue as to what the person living here was up to. Making his way to the left side of the tent, Harry approached a table with parchment and books strewn over it. He carefully picked up one of the tomes that was left open.

"Looks like instructions for some kind of ritual." he muttered to himself after skimming the page. Putting the book down, the young wizard moved to inspect the potion ingredients and the contents of the cauldron at the end of the table.

Just as he began to lift a small bottle filled with some smoky, purple liquid, there came a startled gasp from behind him.

With lightning quick reflexes, Harry whipped his wand out and pointed it directly at the heart of the witch standing at the entrance of the tent

"You!" hissed Bellatrix Lestrange breathlessly. She had a tired and uneasy look about her as she stared at him, but her violet eyes were alert and her wand was firmly pointed at the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Me." replied Harry coldly.

Quickly regaining her composure, the dark witch made her way into the tent, but kept her wand trained on her opponent.

"I knew you'd be back to play eventually." said Bellatrix adopting a casual tone as she slowly moved to the side of the tent furthest away from Harry. "Let me guess. You're here to take mean old Bella into Ministry custody am I right Auror Potter?"

Despite her carefree demeanor, Harry could tell that something had her spooked. He only hoped her apprehensiveness would work to his advantage. "Not quite." replied Harry shortly. "You see, I'm not here on Ministry business. I don't need the Department investigating or asking for an account of what happened here tonight. What's about to happen to you will be our little secret." whispered Harry in a dangerous voice.

"How intimate," muttered the raven haired witch as she edged closer to her bed. "I didn't realize how strongly you felt about me Potter. I wonder… when you're in bed tossing and turning with visions of me in your head, is it only murder and mayhem you fantasize about, or is it something more…_pleasurable_? "

Running her fingers along the blanket on the bed, the former Death Eater looked at the Boy-Who-Lived suggestively. "We have all night to try to kill each other. Why don't we have some fun first? I'm sure your little Weasley tart won't mind."

"You shut up about her!" yelled Harry.

Bellatrix smirked at his outburst and used his momentary distraction to make a sudden grab at something near her pillow. But she was too slow. Almost faster than she could follow, Harry cast "_Sectumsempra!_" at Bellatrix, who dodged quickly but came away with a deep gash just below her shoulder. Whatever she had made a grab for was left on the bed.

Retraining her wand onto the Boy-Who-Lived, the witch quickly fired off a series of curses which were either repelled or dodged. Unnoticed behind her, the bed sheet began to twitch as it was slowly being enchanted.

Deciding to try a different tactic, Bellatrix sent a gust of wind towards Harry nearly knocking him off his feet. "_Confringo!_" yelled Bellatrix, causing a few of the objects blown near Harry to explode in flames. As soon as the flames obscured the young wizard from view she felt something quickly wrap around her neck and hoist her towards the ceiling. Being yanked upwards so suddenly caused Bellatrix to drop her wand and instinctively pull at the item constricting her throat with both hands. After a short struggle, she was able to create enough slack to at least breath. Looking up she saw that it was her bed sheet that had her hanged, then looking back down she saw her wand on the ground a meter below her. 'Damn it' she thought furiously.

Her attention was drawn back to the flames as Harry stepped through them while chuckling softly. For a moment she wondered if he was laughing at her predicament or the tickling sensation caused by the flame-freezing charm.

"You know, I really expected better from you" said Harry as he slowly made his way towards the Death Eater.

"Supposedly you were tutored by Voldemort himself," he repressed the urge to smirk at her reddening at the sound of his name "so I figured we'd have this tremendous duel. Then I'd kill you will equally tremendous satisfaction. But this is just sad really." he stopped his progression towards her as she lashed out with a kick.

"If you were going to kill me Potter, you'd have done it already." hissed Bellatrix while still maintaining her grip on the blanket that was trying to squeeze her neck.

"I _am_ going to kill you, but first I want you to suffer like all those people you tortured."

"How noble." replied Bellatrix while rolling her eyes. "Savior-Boy is only looking out for his adoring public, is he? And here I thought our relationship was a bit more personal" she cooed. "Don't fool yourself, you're not out for public justice, it's vengeance you want – you've already admitted as much. Or have you already gotten over the fact that I put down that mutt of yours." A victorious gleam appeared in her eyes at the expression on the young wizards face.

Harry's response was instantaneous, "_Crucio!_" Pain erupted over every inch of the Death Eaters skin. She was vaguely aware that the pressure around her throat was gone shortly before she hit the ground.

She didn't know how long she was under the curse but when the spell was released she found herself covered in sweat. A slight pressure in her back made here aware of the fact that she was lying on her wand. She looked up to see the not-so-Golden Boy standing above her with murder in his eyes and for an instant she was reminded of _him._

Harry looked down at the panting witch lying below him and pointed his wand at her. He watched as she slowly rolled onto her side in pain and put her hand underneath her. He had never cast the killing curse before, but tonight was a special case. "Avada…"

Before he could finish the curse, Bellatrix whipped her wand out and caused another gust of wind to blow Harry clean across the tent. Harry landed painfully on his back near the cauldron and sat up just in time to see Bellatrix pull a locket and a vial containing an acid-green potion from under her pillow.

He dropped his wand when he landed and so could do little about the potion she hurled at him. The vial crashed mere inches away from him and exploded, launching him through the tent's sidewall and causing him to land roughly on one of the boulders outside.

In pain, disoriented and covered in whatever had been simmering in the cauldron, Harry slowly made his way back to his feet. Through the hole in the tent he saw Bellatrix place the locket around her neck and whisper something. An instant later, she was gone – portkeyed away.

"No!" Harry yelled as he frantically searched for his wand. But by the time he was able to find it in the darkness it was much too late to do anything.

"Bloody hell." He growled. "That could have gone better."

Bellatrix landed at the entrance to Malfoy Manor quite gracefully, considering that she portkeyed while still feeling the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse.

Mere moments after she landed, a house elf appeared nearby to escort her inside. "Please, right this way." squeaked the little creature.

Entering the mansion, Bellatrix was immediately greeted by her sister - almost as if her arrival was expected.

"Bellatrix! What are you doing here? What happened?" asked Narcissa while taking in her sisters bleeding arm and generally disheveled appearance.

"I didn't expect to be received so quickly this late at night." said Bellatrix while dismissing her sister's questions with a wave of her hand. Glancing around curiously she continued, "You weren't expecting company were you?"

"No…" replied Narcissa while following her sister's gaze with raised eyebrows.

"So, you aren't _entertaining_ some lucky wizard?" whispered Bellatrix with a conspiratorial smirk.

For a moment Narcissa looked like she had been slapped. "How dare you come into my home and suggest…" she trailed off once she noticed the growing grin on Bellatrix's face.

"I'm not in the mood for your games and provocations tonight Bella." said Narcissa with a frustrated sigh. "You're obviously in need of medical attention, so let's see to that first. _Then_ you can tell me what happened."

"Grubbly," called Narcissa, while turning to look at the little elf that was still hovering nearby "take my sister to her usual chamber." Then turning back to Bellatrix, she continued "I'll be up presently - I need to retrieve some things before I can see to you."

A few minutes later, when Narcissa entered the room Bellatrix was occupying, she found her sister's boots and outer robe discarded carelessly on the floor, while Bellatrix herself was sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard, apparently deep in thought.

Narcissa moved to sit in a chair next to the bed. "Here, this should help." said Narcissa gently while prodding her sister. Seeing that Bellatrix's attention was now focused on her, she handed her a small vial. "Drink this. It'll diminish the effects of the Cruciatus Curse."

Bellatrix silently took the potion and regarded Narcissa with raised eyebrows, "How the hell did you know about me being under the Cruciatus Curse?"

"Considering your tendency to goad, I imagine that any dueling opponent of yours would almost certainly be compelled to use that particular curse." replied Narcissa, causing Bellatrix to snort in amusement. "Also, you've been twitching since you've arrived. That's what gave it away." concluded Narcissa as she watched her older sister down the dose in one gulp.

"Now, let me have a look at your arm." instructed Narcissa. Complying silently, Bellatrix unbuttoned her shirt and removed her wounded arm from its sleeve with a hiss of pain.

As Narcissa began to clean her wound, Bellatrix knew that her sister was waiting for an explanation of the events that brought her here tonight.

Bellatrix contemplated how much she should reveal. She knew that Narcissa would be horrified if she knew everything that Bellatrix had done that night and would likely turn against her.

'I can't tell her that I tried summoning the Dark Lord's soul back to the world of the living.' Bellatrix thought to herself.

The raven haired witch knew that her little sister and the Malfoy men had turned against the Dark Lord in the end – a fact which displeased Bellatrix to no end. But it wouldn't do to scold the blonde for her betrayal and alienate the only ally she had left.

The failure of the summoning ritual had left Bellatrix despondent. The revival of her Lord was the only hope she had left for the future. Without him and his power and influence, the witch didn't know how she would ever see the world she had worked so hard for - a world of pureblood supremacy.

But even though the ritual had failed to produce her master, someone _did_ show up. It couldn't have been a coincidence that Harry _bloody_ Potter decided to make an appearance at the _exact_ moment she was summoning the Dark Lord's soul.

She knew that they were connected. Bellatrix had been at her master's side as he placed visions inside Potter's head before they went to the Department of Mysteries. And she had been told of how the boy was similarly able to creep around inside the Dark Lord's mind. In the Forbidden Forest as well, when Potter was struck with the killing curse, they had _both_ fallen – and risen again.

It had been demonstrated time and again that their minds and souls were connected. She had hoped that if Harry Potter was still alive then it must also mean that the Dark Lord was alive, or at least able to be brought back. Tonight's failure put an end to that ambition.

But while the Dark Lord himself was beyond her reach, his shadow was plainly visible in the eyes of the Boy-Who-Lived. Potter's hatred – particularly, his hatred for her – revealed the aspects of his personality that were molded by his connection to her Lord.

Each time they dueled, those dark aspects seemed to become stronger. As evidenced by his recent willingness to cast the killing curse.

The fact that the Dark Lord's presence wasn't _entirely_ absent from her life gave her some comfort - even if it was only accessible through Harry Potter's hatred for her.

If only she could nurture and exploit those traits in the powerful young wizard without putting her life in danger.

'He has the power and influence I need, but it's unlikely that I'll ever be able to influence him directly.' she thought.

'But…maybe there _is_ something I can do to help bring about the change this world needs.' she thought, with the seed of a new ambition starting to take root in her mind. 'And I can force Potter to help me whether he wants to or not.'

'I'll need to play this just right if I'm going to convince Cissy to help me'.

Drawing her attention back to Narcissa who was now performing a healing spell on her arm, Bellatrix decided what she would tell her.

"About tonight…" Narcissa jumped slightly at the sudden noise. Bellatrix ignored her and continued. "Potter showed up. I had to abandon most of my things."

"Yes, I suspected as much. This isn't the first time you've turned up on my doorstep after one of your bouts with him." said Narcissa with an unreadable expression as she finished tending to Bellatrix's arm. "But surely there's more to it than that. You're usually exhilarated after crossing wands with him, not subdued and introspective."

"Well, tonight was different" replied Bellatrix as she slipped her mended arm back into her sleeve and buttoned her shirt. "He's far more dangerous than he was when the Dark Lord was around." she continued, noting that Narcissa suddenly became tense at the mention of the Dark Lord.

"Potter is far too quick to resort to the Dark Arts and Unforgivables for someone as 'Golden' as he's supposed to be." said Bellatrix.

"Wh-what are you trying to say?" questioned Narcissa.

"I'm saying that I believe he's starting to embrace the dark arts."

"Preposterous!"

"You _just_ treated me for the Cruciatus Cissy! And he was quite eager to cast the killing curse as well." argued the former Death Eater. "Under normal circumstances I'd have nothing against a few killing curses being hurled about. But Potter isn't going to be killing off _Mudbloods_ is he?"

"You know just as well as I do that the more you use the dark arts, the more you _want_ to use them." Bellatrix paused for a moment to let that idea sink in. "It's personal for him, he doesn't give a damn about the law at this point. And after he's done with me who do you think he'll want then?" Narcissa's face paled slightly and Bellatrix didn't wait for her to respond. "He's going to want Lucius, Draco, and any other Death Eaters he can get his hands on."

Narcissa felt her heart racing as she listened to Bellatrix speak. But despite the fear she felt at her sister's words, Narcissa wasn't entirely sure whether Bella's claims were realistic. Narcissa knew of her sister's penchant for exaggeration and hysterics, and the idea that Potter, of all people, would actually _embrace_ the Dark Arts was utterly ridiculous on the face of it.

But the fact remained that Bellatrix _had_ been hurt and tortured by the Boy-Who-Lived on multiple occasions. And if her sister was actually right about Draco and Lucius being possible targets…well, she couldn't take that chance. Something had to be done.

"I take it you already have a plan." said Narcissa.

"Yes…but I'll need to stay in Somnus' garden for a while. At least until I can lure him there." replied Bellatrix slowly, expecting an argument.

"We've already discussed Somnus' garden." said Narcissa exasperatedly. "The potion you'd have to take to stay there becomes addicting with overuse. And the possible long-term effects are far too dangerous."

"I know," argued Bellatrix "but I don't plan on being there long enough for the potion to become a problem. Trust me, if we do it this way he'll be taken care of for good."

"What do you mean?" questioned Narcissa.

"No…it's best if I don't give you the details. But believe me, if this works Potter will be out of my hair and I'll be out of yours." said Bellatrix. "You won't have to put yourself at risk anymore by harboring a fugitive."

"What if Potter knows about the effects of the garden and prepares himself when he discovers your location?" asked Narcissa.

"I'm sure he doesn't know anything about the place. In fact I'd bet my life on it."

"Alright," agreed Narcissa with a heavy sigh "if you're right about Potter, it may be our best option."

With her sister's agreement, Bellatrix gave a small smile. "Good, I'm glad you see it my way."

Harry stifled a yawn as he slowly began to re-examine the office he was sitting in. Nothing had changed since the last time he was here, with the exception of the mound of paperwork that was sitting on the desk in front of him. Despite the almost frantic pace that was kept by the owner of the office, the list of things to be done seemed to grow perpetually.

"Perhaps a new assistant is in order, Minister Shacklebolt." suggested Harry with a small smile.

Kingsley Shacklebolt frowned slightly before replying. "I already have a dozen assistants with their own mountains of work to take care of."

He stopped what he was doing momentarily to look up at Harry and continued, "All of these," he gestured with one hand to the stacks of paper on his desk "require my personal attention." With a glance at his watch the Minister added, "I just need to wrap up a few things here then we can head down."

"Okay."

Harry didn't mind the wait because he didn't particularly want to attend today's press conference. As an Auror trainee, he had no official reason to be there, but he did understand why the Minister occasionally requested his presence. Having the 'Vanquisher of the Dark Lord' standing there looking supportive of whatever Shacklebolt was talking about seemed to help with public approval.

Today's meeting with the press was going to be about the recent attacks. Ever since the end of the war a few angry wizards and witches had taken it upon themselves to attack members of suspected Dark families. There were many Dark sorcerers who had helped Voldemort raid villages and even invade Hogwarts, but after the war there was barely anyone made to pay for their crimes.

Because of this, many families who had nothing to do with the Dark Lord were attacked simply for having the reputation of being Dark. The growing number of vigilante attacks was starting to divert resources that the Auror Office needed elsewhere. Hopefully, Minister Shacklebolt would be successful in explaining that the vast majority of Death Eaters were dead or had fled the country and so couldn't be held to account - with the obvious exception of Bellatrix Lestrange.

It had been a few weeks since he had last encountered the witch, and he was already planning for his next run in with her. Harry couldn't explain why he was so consumed with her. The war was over, they had won. He should be able to get on with his life – it's what his parents and Sirius would want him to do. But he didn't _want_ to get on with his life…no, he did want to. He just wanted Bellatrix first.

"Harry?" Kingsley's voice pulled Harry out of his musings.

"Hmm?" Harry replied looking up only to realize that the Minister was already standing near the door.

"Are you ready to go? The press conference starts in a few minutes."

"Sure." said Harry, standing as well.

As they made their way down the crowded corridor in companionable silence Harry spotted Mrs. Malfoy, of all people, waiting outside the office of one of the Undersecretaries.

"I wonder what she's doing here?" he wondered aloud.

"Who? Narcissa Malfoy?" asked the Minister after turning to see who Harry was looking at. "The Malfoy's have been donating a lot of time and money to the rebuilding effort. She's most likely here volunteering." Kingsley said.

Chuckling at Harry's dubious expression, the Minister continued. "I know. I could hardly believe it myself at first. But they _have _been an invaluable asset for the Ministry lately."

Shrugging lightly, Harry turned to look at Kingsley. "I should go say hello." he said, causing the Minister to raise an eyebrow at him. "She did save my life after all." he explained. "I'll catch up to you."

"Fine…just don't be late." replied Kingsley as Harry began to make a beeline for Mrs. Malfoy.

Harry didn't mention it to the Minister, but he had reasons for wanting to speak to Mrs. Malfoy other than to be polite. After Bellatrix had escaped him a few weeks ago, Harry had taken a few minutes to rummage through her tent. While he didn't find any explicit evidence that Narcissa was in contact with her sister, he didn't have any doubts that they _were_ recently in contact.

He wanted to talk to her and see what he could find out. Of course he didn't expect her to actually _tell_ him about Bellatrix, but that was what _Legilimency_ was for. One of the first skills he learned in Auror training was how to question using basic _Legilimency_.

Asking the right questions would cause some of the related memories to come to the forefront of her thoughts for easy viewing. Since he didn't need to delve into her mind, it would be difficult for her to discover what he was up to even if she was a skilled Occlumens.

As he approached her he couldn't help but notice that her demeanor was different from the previous times he saw her. She didn't seem cold and unapproachable, but she hardly appeared warm and affable either. Although, she was rather attractive now that she didn't have a look of extreme disgust plastered on her face.

"Hello Mrs. Malfoy" greeted Harry pleasantly once he was close enough.

Apparently she hadn't noticed him because she was startled at the sound of his voice. She turned to look at him with a shocked expression on her face. It only lasted for a moment before she composed herself. "Hello Mr. Potter. To what do I owe this pleasure?" she intoned slowly.

"I wanted to thank you." said Harry with a smile. At her blank expression he continued "You know, for what you did for me in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Oh." replied Narcissa while waving a hand dismissively. "You have nothing to thank me for - it worked out for both of us in the end."

"That it did, but thank you all the same." he said softly while looking into her blue eyes.

Narcissa saw some apprehension in the eyes of the Boy-Who-Lived and got the impression that he wanted to be on friendly terms with her but was uncertain as to how she'd react to his attempt to engage her further.

She had been concerned about what Bella told her about the young man. But she saw nothing in him to indicate any ill will.

'I guess I'm not the only one trying to win friends and build social standing' thought Narcissa. 'Being on good terms with Harry Potter would go a long way to repairing the damage done to my family's reputation.'

Deciding to encourage him, she smiled at him disarmingly, to which he smiled at her in return.

"How have you been lately?" asked Harry without breaking eye contact.

_Narcissa sat in a sparsely decorated room. The small shelves along the walls were lined with books and rolled parchment but the room was too dark for reading. The only light that entered was the moonlight that shown through a closed window, but that was enough to illuminate the cauldron that stood in front of her. With an exhausted look on her face Narcissa tiredly stirred a white potion. Slower and slower she stirred…until she finally nodded off._

"I'm as well as can be expected." replied Narcissa. "Just trying to make myself useful really. There's plenty to be done." she paused for a moment to regard him curiously then continued. "And you? I imagine you must be busy between your work in the Auror Office and also helping the Minister directly."

"Yes, I'm busy but I enjoy it. Not so much meeting with the press," he amended "but the Auror work is rewarding even if it's dangerous and hectic at times. Although, as a trainee I don't get out as much as the full fledged Aurors."

"I'm sure the fact that _you_ became an Auror will deter many people who would fancy themselves Dark Lords."

"One can hope, but I doubt it will be that easy." replied Harry. "So…how's your family been?"

She looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

_A much younger, ashen faced Narcissa stood in the drawing room of Number 12 Grimmauld Place as she watched an angry young Bellatrix scream into the face of an equally angry brown haired girl. Narcissa was too shocked to really understand what they were saying. _

_But something Bellatrix said must have crossed a line because one moment they were standing toe to toe and the next, Bellatrix was on the ground after being viciously backhanded. After a few choice words, the brown haired girl stormed out of the house, slamming the front door behind her._

"_Can you believe that little idiot!?" asked the dark haired girl angrily while wiping blood from her lip. "Running off with some Mudblood! I hate to imagine what mother will do when she finds out."_

_Narcissa, as she appeared today sat on a chair next to Bellatrix who was reclining on a bed with a spaced out expression on her face. The blonde woman glanced worriedly at her sister every once in a while as she tended to her bleeding arm. _

_Narcissa sat at a desk in what appeared to be a study room. She was shuffling through some papers with a troubled look when a loud crack interrupted her. She turned towards the small elf that appeared with a hopeful expression, but the creature shook his head sadly._

"_There is no new mail yet." squeaked the elf - causing Narcissa to turn back to her papers with a scowl. _

"_I've brought food for Mistress Narcissa" said the elf._

"_I'm not hungry."_

"_But you haven't eaten since yesterday," the elf replied timidly. "It is not good that you go hungry. Masters Lucius and Draco will write soon, Grubbly is sure!"_

"_I said…" Before she could finish snapping at the elf, a large familiar owl tapped on the window._

_Sighing in relief, she got up to let the owl in. With a hoot it landed on her desk and stuck its leg out for her to retrieve the letter attached._

"Lucius and Draco are fine," she answered after a moment's thought. "They're doing volunteer work for the Ministry."

"Really?" asked Harry. "I haven't seen them around."

"No, you wouldn't have. They're out in some of the more remote parts of Wizarding Britain, helping to rebuild the villages that were raided by the Dark Lord. They've been gone for a number of weeks now."

Now it was Harry's turn to look at her with raised eyebrows. "That seems like a lot for volunteer work."

"Yes…Draco was actually quite insistent on taking the task. We're all trying to make amends for our past mistakes…" replied Narcissa softly.

After a moment's hesitation she continued. "About my sister, Andromeda," Harry looked perplexed at the sudden change of subject. "You're her grandson's godfather aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm Teddy's godfather…why?"

"I don't know…I was thinking of her just now. How are they? Andromeda and Teddy?" she asked with eyes full of regret.

"They were both very well last week when I saw them."

"I see…thank you Mr. Potter. I should be going in to see the Undersecretary now." said Mrs. Malfoy.

"Of course. Until next time." replied Harry.

As she made her way into the office, Harry turned to continue on to the press conference. From what he just saw in her mind, he knew that she was very exhausted and equally stressed, but she hid it well.

He couldn't help but feeling sympathy for her despite himself.

He also now knew that Bellatrix had gone to see her that night and that Mrs. Malfoy was his best bet on finding the Death Eater. And after considering the memories he just saw, he knew exactly how to persuade Mrs. Malfoy to lead him to her sister.

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End Part I

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Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think. Since I'm new to writing, any feedback (hopefully constructive) would be appreciated.


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